Our latest installment of World Cup previews takes a look at Group C. Arguably one of the weakest groups in the tournament Colombia, Greece, the Ivory Coast, and Japan. This is due, in part, to the loss of Radamel Falcao, the player that carried Colombia through most of qualifying before falling victim to a knee injury. Falcao rushed to make it back in an attempt to make it to Brazil but was unable to regain his fitness and will be left out.
Team Breakdown:
Colombia:
Los Cafeteros (The Coffee Growers) head into the World Cup with a lot of steam. However, they lost a lot of momentum last week when it was announced that Falcao was not able to recover from his knee injury time. Colombia will rely on winger Jackson Martinez, forward Teófilo Gutiérrez, and striker Victor Ibarbo to take care of the scoring in Brazil. Inter's Fredy Guarín will look to control the game from midfield. Guarín has great playmaking ability and can shoot with both feet from distance. He'll play a deep lying role for el Tricolor and look to make runs forward to influence the game. Goalie David Ospina had a strong qualifying campaign as Colombia conceded a South American low 13 goals. However, the defense is aging with captain Mario Yepes leading the charge at 38 years old. If the defense can hold strong in front of Ospina, Colombia have a chance of making it out of the group stage.
Greece: The Greeks are tough defensive team that all teams in this group will find hard to break down. They also carry a pretty awesome nickname Paritiko which means the Pirate Ship in Greek. Sokratis Papastathopoulos (pronunciation guide here) leads a defense that only gave up four goals in 10 qualifying games in Europe. Midfielder Giorgos Karagounis will look to add to his Greek record 132 appearances and lead the team with his fighting spirit. Greece's most important player is striker Kostas Mitroglou. The forward scored five of the 12 goals in qualifying. If Mitroglou can find the back of the net, Greece's stingy defense gives them a chance against any team in this group.
Ivory Coast: Les Éléphants enters the 2014 World Cup as the top ranked African team. The Ivory Coast does not lack for experience with eight players with over 50 international appearances. Striker Didier Drogba captains a squad the has plenty of attacking power. In addition to Drogba's 65 international goals the Ivory Coast boasts Salomon Kalou, Gervinho, Wilfried Bony, and, most importantly, Yaya Toure. Toure is a complete box to box midfielder and will get a chance to display his attack talents in Brazil. Cheick Tiote is a hard tackling machine who gives Toure the freedom to move forward in attack and is guaranteed to pick up a few yellow cards during the tournament. If the 36 year-old Drogba is able to partner with Toure and the rest of the Ivorian attckers, they should be able to make it out of the group.
Japan: The Samarai Blue will be looking to keep possession and play through the middle as they attempt to improve on their quarterfinal appearance in 2010. The Japanese boast attacking midfielders Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa who link up well with each other and can play great interchanges to create opportunities. It will be up to Honda and Kagawa along with winger Shinji Okazaki and forward Yoshito Ōkubo to take the chances for Japan. The lack of wide options forces Japan's fullbacks to get forward and help create offense. As a result, Japan often find themselves exposed at the back. Falcao's absence may be most beneficial for Japan as Maya Yoshida and the rest of the back line may struggled to contain him. If Japan can keep the gate closed at the back, Japan should be able to move on to the knockout stage.
Players to Watch:
The Star: Yaya Toure
One of the best players in the Barclay's Premier League this season, Toure can score from distance, from inside the penalty area, and from free kicks. Toure often doesn't get the credit that he deserves on the internation level. possibly because he plays for an African nation and not a European or South American side. Yaya will have to opportunity to show the world how good of a player he is. With the Ivory Coast, Toure will have the chance to show off his offensive skills without having to track back to defend as frequently.
The One to Watch: Shinji Kagawa
Kagawa will be under a lot of pressure to perform in Brazil. The attacker has found his opportunities limited at Manchester United over the last two years, despite playing well when he's been on the pitch. Kagawa will need to keep up that form in Brazil in order for Japan to live up to their own expectactions. Kagawa is capable of creating plays from deep in midfield or making chances and scoring goals when playing behind the striker. Honda should draw enough pressure from other teams for Kagawa to have time and space to thrive.
The Question Mark: Kostas Mitroglou
Mitroglou only started one game after his January transfer to Fulham of the Premier Leauge. Before that, Mitroglou scored 13 goals in nine starts with Greek side Olympiacos. Mitroglou has the ability to dribble past defenders to create his own goals, the power to score from deep and the finesse to score in close. If Mitroglou's Fulham struggles continue, Greece will be heading home early. If he can find his goal scoring form, Greece might be able to make it out of the group stage for the first time ever.
My Prediction:
1. Ivory Coast
2. Japan
3. Colombia
4. Greece
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